[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3807 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3807

   To enhance the prevention of mental health discrimination against 
   individuals during accession into the Armed Forces, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2020

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance the prevention of mental health discrimination against 
   individuals during accession into the Armed Forces, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prevention of Mental Health 
Discrimination During Military Accession Act''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAL WAIVERS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS 
              AS MINORS UNDER STANDARDS FOR APPOINTMENT, ENLISTMENT, OR 
              INDUCTION IN THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Medical Waivers.--Department of Defense Instruction 6130.03, 
relating to standards for appointment, enlistment, or induction in the 
Armed Forces, shall be modified to eliminate, to the extent 
practicable, undue discrimination against individuals with covered 
mental health conditions (including, in particular, individuals with a 
temporary or adolescent diagnosis of a mental health condition and 
showing demonstrable improvement) through such modifications to medical 
waiver standards and processes under that Instruction as the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in consultation with 
appropriate mental health practitioners, considers appropriate.
    (b) Liberal Consideration of Military Family Life in Issuance of 
Medical Waiver for Mental Health Conditions.--
            (1) In general.--In determining whether to issue a waiver 
        of the standards for appointment, enlistment, or induction in 
        the Armed Forces for an individual with a prior covered mental 
        health condition who was raised (in whole or in part) in a 
        military family for purposes of authorization of the 
        appointment, enlistment, or induction of such individual in the 
        Armed Forces, the Surgeon General of the military department 
        concerned shall give liberal consideration in such individual's 
        favor to the potential role of the challenges of military 
        family life in such condition.
            (2) Review in case of denial.--
                    (A) In general.--If an individual described in 
                paragraph (1) is denied appointment, enlistment, or 
                induction in the Armed Forces based in whole or in part 
                on a covered mental health condition notwithstanding 
                the liberal consideration required by that paragraph, 
                the Secretary of the military department concerned 
                shall--
                            (i) provide for the review of the denial on 
                        such basis by a qualified mental health care 
                        provider; and
                            (ii) if the provider determines that the 
                        denial was unwarranted, authorize the 
                        appointment, enlistment, or induction of the 
                        individual in the Armed Forces (unless 
                        appointment, enlistment, or induction of the 
                        individual remains unwarranted on some other 
                        basis).
                    (B) Mental health care provider.--For purposes of 
                this paragraph, a mental health care provider is any 
                psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health nurse 
                practitioner, licensed social worker, or other licensed 
                mental health care provider in the military health 
                system.
            (3) Guidance.--Each military department shall carry out 
        this subsection in accordance with guidance issued by the 
        Secretary of such military department for purposes of this 
        subsection.
    (c) Assessments of Frequency of Denial of Medical Waivers for 
Mental Health Conditions.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an 
        assessment of the medical waivers of standards for appointment, 
        enlistment, or induction in the Armed Forces that have been 
        requested and issued under section 5.28 of Department of 
        Defense Instruction 6103.03 during the five-year period ending 
        on the date of the enactment of this Act in order to determine 
        whether, and the extent to which, individuals with a covered 
        mental health condition are disproportionately denied 
        enlistment or induction into the Armed Forces due to such 
        condition.
            (2) Elements.--Each assessment under paragraph (1) shall 
        include the following:
                    (A) A description of the number of minor military 
                dependents whose medical records were accessed in 
                connection with requests for and issuance of medical 
                waivers as described in paragraph (1).
                    (B) A description of the number of military 
                dependents who were denied appointment, enlistment, or 
                induction in the Armed Forces based on information in 
                their medical records as minors.
                    (C) A description of the number of military 
                dependents enlisted or inducted into the Armed Forces 
                who have been separated or released from the Armed 
                Forces following the merger of their dependent and 
                member medical records.
                    (D) An assessment whether the policies on medical 
                waivers of the standards referred to in paragraph (1) 
                in connection with psychiatric disorders deter military 
                family members from seeking mental health care.
    (d) Covered Mental Health Condition Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``covered mental health condition'' means a mental health 
condition appearing or diagnosed while the individual concerned was a 
minor.
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